I'll admit that there are days that challenge me. Challenge me to be as good as I can be. To be thankful for the blessing of another day even when I feel that everything has gone wrong and that I've not lived up to my full potential.
For this very reason, I created a project that I'll share that makes me stop for a few moments each day to think about one thing or moment or deed that I felt grateful for on that particular day.
I've been writing in my journal every day since January 1 of this year. And the small act of stopping to reflect upon my day, each and every day, makes me realize that each day IS a gift.
And I'm so pleased to sharing two other projects by our team members where they'll showcase how they capture their thankfulness in new, creative and innovative ways.
Hi, I'm Monika Wright. I'm back today sharing ways to chronicle what you are thankful for in your life. Grab your coffee and spend a few moments with me, won't you?
Here is my 365 things I am grateful for in 2010 journal I told you about. Seeing this out on my craft desk makes me smile. Makes me want to look back and read what I've written. And provides me with incentive to pick it up and reflect upon my gratitude for this day.
I literally went through my scrap bin searching for papers that were large enough to write on. I pulled out my tab punch for the months and various journaling spots, mismatched letter stickers, and rub-ons and went to town creating and embellishing my journal. I thought if I made this journal appealing to the eye, I would feel badly if I didn't actually use it, especially since I had used so many cute embellishments and papers.
Here's a peak at some of the interior pages before I started recording my thoughts.
See what I mean? Who wouldn't be compelled to use this fun journal to record a grateful thought per day!
This adorable mini-album was crafted by Aly Dosdall with the help of her daughters.
...and here are her ideas behind the project:
1. let your child(ren) take photos of some of the things they are most thankful for
2. cut a manila file folder in thirds horizontally
3. layer them one inside the other (the ends should be different lengths)
4. add photos, paper, journaling (in child's handwriting) and embellishments
5. bind by tying ribbon through holes
I would never have known that a file folder was the base of this mini...cute, cute, cute!
For all you digi lovers out there, you are going to adore the project Karen Grunberg is using to chronicle her feelings of gratitude.
Here are links to the weekly gratitude template pages and a video tutorial on coloring the digital templates.
I'll let Karen share her thoughts with you:
Each year, I pick a few year-long projects that I work on throughout the year. One of the projects I picked for 2010 was the Weekly Gratitude project. I decided that I would take it one step further and write three things I'm grateful for each day. Now, my 5-year-old son's doing it, too. So for the last ten months, we've been recording daily three things, weekly art, and weekly thoughts on gratitude and I use my blog to record and share these things. It's been one of the most rewarding projects I've ever worked on; it gives me time to reflect upon my blessings every day.
If you haven't had the chance to meet Karen Grunberg {aka karenika}, she is one of our newest design team members and you can read all about her, Keshet and Lisa here.
I hope that you have found some inspiration in the many ways you can choose to record your own feelings of thankfulness and gratitude. Whether you use your scraps to create a mini-journal, choose to include your children in a meaningful project on their everyday blessings or even use your own amazing digital skills to chronicle your thoughts, you will have a meaningful reminder of the everyday things that make your life unique and wonderful.
